The Importance of Omnichannel CX Design – How to Engage and Empowered Cross-Functional Teams

Have you ever urgently needed written information from a bank to apply for a home loan just to wait on hold after calling the bank’s help line? After what feels like forever, you are finally connected to a representative but as luck would have it, they aren’t authorized to type a letter on the bank’s letterhead. Unfortunately, the document can also not be emailed or posted ‘because it’s all automated.’

These types of disparate customer service experiences are becoming far too common. It is clear that businesses need to change their approach to customer experience from being channel specific to a more diverse, omnichannel approach in order to focus on consistency of service through integrated customer journeys.

When operating within an intelligent contact centre, customers can receive a completely different experience. Now the consumer is greeted by an empathetic agent with a can-do attitude that is happy to email a closure letter, but that it’s also already available online through the internet banking portal.

How these silos were created:

Organisations (regardless of size) are segmented into specific functions and departments. This is done for many good reasons, including specialization and efficiency. However, these departments or functions operate in silos where at times their goals are not aligned. Silos can be a significant problem throughout the organization but are particularly toxic to CX initiatives.

Almost all organizations now recognize that CX is a key measure of success. They are also starting to understand that CX transformation cannot happen in pockets of the organization but requires a ‘whole of company’ approach. For traditional hierarchical organizations, senior management must first define the CX strategy, and then shepherd the company through the accompanying cultural transformation. This may be difficult for many organizations caught in an era of disruption and a frenetic pace of change that struggles to transform quickly.

Best Approach for CX Initiatives

CX initiatives can be led from below and can be tackled one customer journey at a time. The key is to form an engaged and empowered cross-functional team, with representation and support from multiple departments and functions of the organization. It’s critical that this team is inoculated against, and protected from, the cultural norms of silo-based thinking.

Basic Steps to Consider:

1: Assign a champion to CX – they may need to convince many people to buy into the venture

2: Understand the metrics of success that senior management and executives require from changes in CX. Baseline the metrics so that they can measure the impact of CX initiatives.


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